Grace Molony is one of the rising stars of the Rose Theatre, Kingston. Despite being only seventeen and having started her career barely three years ago, Grace has already secured two lead roles and has a promising future ahead of her.
“I’ve been a part of the Rose Theatre for three years” smiles Grace. “It has been hard work, particularly whilst juggling A-Levels and GCSEs, but it has been very rewarding.”
Surely for someone so young, an activity such as this which requires such a huge amount of confidence must be daunting. That, however, doesn’t hinder Grace’s enthusiasm; “I have weekly sessions at the Rose in which we go through various acting exercises and, whenever we have an upcoming play, we rehearse regularly and intensively. I do get nervous, particularly before a big scene, but I have friends and coaches around me and we all work hard to keep each other calm and focussed.”
And for Grace, big scenes are common. In 2011 she played the part of Hamlet in Shakespeare’s play, which was her first lead role on such a large scale and she has also earned the role of Tess in upcoming play Tess of the D’Urbervilles. “I was over the moon when I got the part of Tess. Any part in such a fantastic play would have been amazing, but to be given the opportunity to play such an iconic character felt like a dream come true. I just hope I can do her justice.” The group for which Grace acts consists of both young adults and older actors, who work together in the plays to give a unique performance. “It’s great working with people who have that extra experience,” muses Grace, happily. “There’s always someone to turn to for advice or a new take on a role. I never feel like the baby of the group- everyone treats each other equally and we all respect each other’s ideas.”
One of the most striking things about the petite actress is her academic success. Grace attends grammar school Tiffin Girls’ in Kingston, and is currently studying for her A-Levels after achieving exceptional GCSE results. It was hard to understand how someone so young could commit to such rigorous acting training yet still have time for revision and studying. “I find it important to create a good balance between school, acting and my social life. I think that this leads to a healthy mind and body, and in fact I find that my acting can actually help me with studies, particularly when we study plays in English.”
Grace ends the interview after admitting she has a party to go to- clearly the Hollywood lifestyle is already emerging- but is sure to pass on the details about her latest play and her thanks for the publicity it has gained through this interview.
Tess of the D’Urbervilles will be showing at the Rose Theatre, Kingston on January 11th and 12th, 2013.
